Further Concerns & Dream

I did the Human Sun seminar over the last week. As I sensed from earlier impressions of Waking Down, the intentions/guidelines are about identical with other practices I have been exposed to. Still, there are some differences.

In Zen, we still go through a similar process - the dance of relative and absolute, exploring both ends of the polarity and weaving them together in our lives. The dance between Big Mind and working with the shadow, all in relationships with oneself, others and the larger world.

A difference, it seems, is that in Zen - and especialy the Big Mind work - we work on the shadow and the aspects of ourselves that needs awareness and healing, from Big Mind (transdual view, or at least luminocity/clarity). In Waking Down, there seems to be a more local/narrow perspective at times.

Another difference, and maybe a crucial one, is the emphasis on compassion and emptiness (nothing fixed, nothing separate) in Buddhist practices. Does it come spontaneously in the Waking Down process? It is certainly not emphasized.

Dream

And a dream that I sense is connected to all this.

Jen and I saw a house for sale, and walked in. Nobody where there, but it was open for people to look around. We fell asleep on a mattress in the garage, and the owners came home (large family, teenage kids). We wake up, and in the confusion pretended we were interested in buying. When the owner heard where we lived, he wanted to trade with our house. I was wondering how to get out of it as this house was in an unattractive neighborhood and itself was unattractive - in clear contrast with our house which is beautiful and pleasant (dailight, wood stove, vaulted ceilings, forested neighborhood).

This dream was after a day and evening wondering how wise it is to get into Waking Down, with all my concerns about it (and the prospect of being dragged into a WD wortex) when I already have found practices that I am completely at home with and are remarkably effective (Zen, Big Mind).